Servers traditionally have minimal capability for power management. In recent years, system compaction has resulted in dramatic increases in data center power densities and related cooling problems. Rising energy costs also raise the incentive for power management.
In recent years, server power consumption has become a major information technology (IT) concern in terms of both energy cost and data center capacity. Servers form factors have shrunk and critical system components such as processors have increased in power. As a result, IT suppliers can consolidate much more compute capability into rack cabinets with a resulting significant increase in power density.